No Leo
by Evanescent
Summary: Piper's acting unusually calm, all things considering, Phoebe and Paige experiment with a new potion
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed, unfortunately.  
  
Preview: After the season finale, Piper is acting far too calm and peaceful while Phoebe and Paige experiment with a new potion and Chris questions the Elders about the new Source. An Elder arrives with some shocking news for Piper…This is my first fan pic, so please be constructive.  
  
No Leo?  
Piper was acting calm. Too calm. Walking into the nursery, she noticed that Paige was playing with Wyatt, and as was typical, was singing. It's not that she minded her sister watching her son, it was just she wanted to have some alone time with him every once in a while. Now that Leo was gone, she needed something to keep her going, something to live for, fight for, and protect. Paige looked up and smiled, as though everything in the world was right and perfect. "Hey Piper! Wyatt's being a perfect angel! Aren't you?" she said, tickling him. "Hi Paige," Piper said tolerantly. "I think Phoebe might want some help with that potion she's making." "Okay, I'll go help her then. And I'll see you later, my adorable little nephew!" Piper sighed and sat down, things had been going well all week. No demons, no fights, nothing. It was all almost too perfect. Just then Chris orbed in, snapping her out of her reflective reverie. "Did you see Leo?" Piper asked quickly. "Yes, he sends his love to you and Wyatt, but he can't come visit. He's watching you though," Chris lied. "Oh." Piper tried to hide her disappointment. She had been hoping to see her husband. "But I'm sure he'll be able to visit after things settle down a little," Chris reassured her. "Has there been any more activity in the demonic world? Have the Elders found out anything about the new Source?" "They're working on it. Whoever it is, he's doing a good job of hiding," Chris reported. Chris and Piper jumped up as they heard a loud explosion coming from downstairs. Running as fast as she could, Piper dashed down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen as Chris orbed. Quickly stopping herself from running into him, she looked at Paige and Phoebe. They were both covered in a fine, light purple powder and each had a look of shocked surprise on her face. Piper just stared at them until they looked at her, smiling a little ashamedly. "Well? What the hell just happened?!!!!" Piper asked, angry at the near- heart attack they had just given her. "Um, well, you see…" Paige began as Phoebe started to laugh hysterically. Soon Paige joined her as Chris and Piper walked away, leaving the girls to their laughter and the mess. "What are they trying to do, anyways?" Chris inquired, glancing back towards the kitchen where they could still hear giggling. "An invisibility potion, Phoebe found a recipe for it in an old potions book. We thought it might come in useful," Piper explained, skipping over quite a few details. She didn't trust Chris yet, after all that she'd been through, she didn't really trust anyone besides her sisters. He nodded and then orbed out, muttering something that was totally incoherent. She just shook her head and went back upstairs, assuming her seemingly peaceful manner once again.  
Down in the kitchen Phoebe and Paige were beginning to regain their composures. "We'd better clean this up before Piper comes back," said Paige reluctantly. "Yea, I don't know what's been up with her lately. She usually doesn't take things this calmly, normally she'd fight until she somehow found a way to get Leo back." "Maybe she realizes that Leo can't come back, not the way he did before," Paige suggested. "I don't think so, that's not like Piper. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, even though I really don't like this…" Phoebe worried.  
* * * * * *  
That night something odd, even for the Charmed ones, happened that completely changed everything forever. Chris orbed in an Elder who wanted to talk to Piper. Going into the living room, he told her to sit down. Hesitantly, she obeyed. "Leo's gone," the Elder, named Ehirus, told her sadly. "What do you mean 'gone'," Piper asked, almost hysterical. "We can't find him, or sense him, we're not sure if he's alive or dead," Ehirus admitted solemnly. Piper began to cry uncontrollably and Phoebe and Paige rushed in. Chris orbed out with Ehirus, leaving the girls to grieve for Leo. "What's wrong, what happened," Phoebe questioned, prepared for more bad news. "Leo's….gone…" Piper sobbed. Paige and Phoebe tried to console Piper, but it was useless. Suspiciously, it had started to rain when Piper had begun crying, but the girls were too busy trying to console her to notice. 


	2. Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, blah blah blah  
  
Secrets  
As the Charmed ones mourned the loss of their whitelighter, beloved husband and brother to them, Chris was slightly less upset. He didn't want any of them, especially Piper, to know that Leo was missing, particularly because he had just told Piper that he'd spoken with Leo. He was devoutly hoping that she would be too incapacitated by her grief to make that connection. Chris decided it would be best to stay away for a while anyways, after all, there was no use in reminding her of their previous conversations and besides, he didn't know Leo all that well. So, slightly irritated that his plans had been upset a little, he decided to have a meeting with his brother, who just happened to be the Source of all evil. What Chris had "forgot" to tell his new wards was that, in the future he was from, the gods and goddesses had made a deal with Zarion, his brother, that had enabled Zarion to become all powerful, as a unique mix of demon and god, unopposed ruler of the underworld. However, the gods had become greedy and power-hungry and had killed Zarion so that they alone would rule the world again, as had been denied them before. In an effort to change his brother's unfortunate future, Chris had gone back in time, a power granted to him by Zarion. Done musing about the past, Chris blinked to Zarion's underworld lair.  
  
"It just doesn't make any sense," Paige complained, sipping some herbal tea that she and Phoebe had used to calm Piper down. "I know, something's not right. How could an Elder just disappear?" Phoebe questioned, following Paige's train of thought. "Has anything like this ever happened before?" Paige wondered. "I don't think so. The only time an Elder disappears is when he deliberately gives away his powers and appoints a new Elder to take his place," Phoebe supplied. "But Leo wouldn't do that, he has a wife and child." Phoebe nodded her agreement and the sisters went upstairs to check on Wyatt and Piper, who were both asleep in Piper's room.  
  
"What do you mean the Charmed ones know about Leo?" Zarion asked, angry at his brother's inability to keep Leo's disappearance a secret. "All they know is that he's gone, they don't know how or if he's even dead," Chris pointed out. "Our plan isn't ruined yet. The sisters are too distraught to ask any leading questions." "You better be right. You should get back to them, they're probably wondering where you are, which is something we don't need right now." Chris orbed to the kitchen of the Halliwell Manor, he only blinked when he was going to Zarion. The last thing he needed was anyone questioning his unusual powers.  
  
The next morning was a disaster. The weather outside was gray and rainy, a steady downpour that looked like it would never end. It was thoroughly depressing Phoebe and Paige, who had thought to go to the park with Wyatt and Piper in the hopes of making Piper feel a little better. She was still upstairs, crying. And no one knew where Chris was, he was supposed to be getting more information from the elders. 


	3. Paige's Problems

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed but a few ideas are definitely mine (  
  
Paige's Problems  
  
"You didn't know him half as well as we did!!!" Phoebe shouted at Paige. "Well, that's not exactly my fault, now is it?" Paige retorted with equal anger. "You just don't understand! He was more than a Whitelighter and we can't just replace him like that!" Phoebe snapped her fingers to emphasize her point. "We're not replacing him, no one could replace him, I'm just saying we do have to get back to work eventually and Chris is our Whitelighter now. We should at least know where he is, we are his only wards since he came from the future and I think he probably feels like we're driving him away," Paige tried to explain calmly, knowing it was futile. Yes, it was true that Phoebe and Piper had known Leo for longer than she had, but that didn't mean that she loved him less. But lately things were starting to get out of hand and she was curious about Chris, he had saved her life.Paige brought her attention back to Phoebe and just gave up suddenly. "I'm leaving," she said, orbing out.  
  
In fact, Chris didn't really mind the Charmed Ones staying away from the demonic world, it just made his job much, much easier. He did like to be around Paige, but her orbing abilities sort of threw him off guard and it was hard to get her away from Piper and Phoebe. Oh, well, his interest in Paige didn't really amount to anything, she definitely wasn't a part of his plan. On the other hand, he could gain something with her on his side, he'd have to give it some thought. Time to make an appearance, Chris thought as he orbed into the Halliwell living room. He was mildly surprised to see Phoebe sitting on the couch looking peculiarly angry. Usually she was moping around with Piper and Paige. Hesitantly, he decided to ask about the source of her unusual anger. "What happened?" Chris asked, knowing it was expected and might be useful. "Oh, nothing very important," Phoebe said sarcastically, "My sister just orbed to who knows where and I have no clue when she'll be back." "I can go look for her," Chris suggested. "That would probably be a good idea, but I don't think you'll find her." "You might be surprised." Chris orbed to P3 first, thinking she might be there. No such luck, it was a fairly busy night for the club though. Strange, considering Piper hadn't left the house in over a week. Shrugging, he orbed to the park he had visited once with Paige, her sisters, and Wyatt about 2 weeks ago when they had finally persuaded Piper that some fresh air would be good for everybody. It was near a lake and he saw someone sitting on the grass, facing the lake. Curious, he walked forward. "I see Phoebe sent you off to hunt me down," Paige remarked sullenly, looking up at Chris. "Not exactly," Chris disagreed, sitting down next to her. He broke the silence a few minutes later, reluctantly. "Want to talk about it?" "It was just a sisterly disagreement. I don't think you'd find it very informative," Paige explained, an amused note in her voice. She really didn't think he needed to know that he had been the source of that particular argument.  
  
The next morning Paige and Chris orbed into the Halliwell kitchen together, causing Phoebe and Piper to exchange glances and raised eyebrows that spoke a world of meaning. "I see you found our sister," Piper said. "Well, it wasn't too hard," Chris replied casually. "So, where have you been all night?" Piper further questioned Paige. "Around," Paige said with a vague wave of her hand. The truth of the matter was that she had ended up talking to Chris for a while and finally fell asleep on his couch after he orbed them to his apartment. However, Piper and Phoebe might see that platonic encounter a different way and Paige wasn't up to defending herself at the moment. Grimacing to herself, she admitted that she spent a lot of time defending herself, which was getting to be a little annoying. "Have you guys noticed this peculiar whether we've been having?" Phoebe asked as she gazed out the window. The weather was slightly overcast today. "Yea, it's been suiting my mood," Piper said, meaning it to be a joke. Paige and Phoebe exchanged a look and managed to get away from Chris and Piper by going upstairs to visit Wyatt. "What do you think?" Phoebe wanted to know, putting her differences with Paige aside for the moment. "I think it's highly suspicious. Maybe we should check the book?" she suggested.  
  
After that day the four of them, the sisters and Chris, watched the weather suspiciously. And indeed it did match Piper's mood on a continuous basis. And other odd things began to happen as well. For instance, Phoebe always seemed to be with a different guy and Paige was acting peculiarly violent. Chris knew what was happening long before his wards did, but he kept that information to himself, knowing full well what this kind of power would mean. 


End file.
